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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pop — soda
  3. rash — a series
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chip — to eat
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. pop — music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bore — to tire
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com